Howard Smit
Encyclopedia
Howard J. Smit was a pioneering American
film
make-up artist known for his work on films including The Birds
and The Wizard of Oz
. Smit also spearheaded the movement to establish the Academy Award for Best Makeup to recognize the profession within the film industry
. He also successfully pushed studios to credit film make-up artists in a movie's screen credits.
Smit became a founding member of the IATSE local 706, Make-up and Hairstylists Guild chapter, in 1937.
, where he eventually enrolled in law school
.
.
Smit's earliest work film work included in the make-up departments of The Wizard of Oz and Gunga Din
. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, Smit worked on a number of feature films, especially Westerns. He worked with some of Hollywood's best known actors of the time, including Myrna Loy
, Joan Crawford
, Ethel Barrymore
, Roy Rogers
, Barbara Stanwyck
, Dale Evans
, Lionel Barrymore
, and Robert Mitchum
.
Smit worked on two of Alfred Hitchcock
's films in the 1960s, Marnie
and The Birds
.
He switched to television and later worked on the Mod Squad and The Streets of San Francisco
.
in 1937. The charter led to the foundation of the IATSE local 706, Make-up and Hairstylists Guild chapter, in 1937, of which Smit was a founding member. Smit remained active with the Make-up and Hairstylists Guild and other related unions and organizations for more than 60 years, until his retirement in 1994.
Smit served as the president of the IATSE local 706, Make-up and Hairstylists Guild for two terms. Smit was first elected president in 1953 and re-elected to a second term in 1955. He later became a member of Make-up and Hairstylists Guild executive board of directors
. Smit served as the union's business respresentative from 1974 until 1994, and remained business respresentative emeritus
following his retirement
.
Beginning in the 1950s, Smit pushed for pension
, health
and welfare
benefits for Hollwood's make-up artists and hairstylists. Smit's efforts were successful and these benefits are now part of the industry's Basic Agreement contract.
Smit and John Inzerella successfully spearheaded efforts to require film studios to include a mandatory contractual clause
that credited make-up artists and hairstylists in a movie's screen credits. The compulsory screen credits for a film's make-up artists were adopted in the 1980s. Smit also negotiated a five day work week for film make-up artists.
Smit and Inzerella also led the campaign to establish the Academy Award for Best Makeup as a recognition of make-up artists by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
. Smit's efforts were rewarded in 1981 when The Academy created the first Oscar category for "achievement in make-up." The inaugural Academy Award for film make-up was awarded in 1982 to make-up artist Rick Baker for his work on An American Werewolf in London
. The Make-up and Hairstylists Guild honored Smit for his efforts in establishing the Academy Award for achievement in make-up by creating the Smitty Award in his honor.
Smit established the Deb Star Ball in 1953, an industry event which was held annually for 15 years. The proceeds from the ball were used to fund the IATSE Local 706 welfare committee. Those honored at the Deb Star Ball included Jill St. John
, Mary Ann Mobley
, Kim Novak
and Tuesday Weld
.
Smit served as both a Governor and a board member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. He also worked as a director for the Motion Picture Industry Health and Pension Fund.
Smit was shot
and wounded by another make-up artist in 1986 as he was exiting a board meeting of the Make-up and Hairstylists Guild. Smit's assailant later shot and killed two Los Angeles police officers
at the perpatrator's home. Smit recovered from the shooting
. He continued to serve on the Make-up Guild for eight more years until his retirement in 1994.
He also developed a line of moisturizing cream which was sold in stores under the name, Stage Ten Cosmetics.
Funeral services were held at the Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery
in Los Angeles.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
make-up artist known for his work on films including The Birds
The Birds (film)
The Birds is a 1963 horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock based on the 1952 short story "The Birds" by Daphne du Maurier. It depicts Bodega Bay, California which is, suddenly and for unexplained reasons, the subject of a series of widespread and violent bird attacks over the course of a few...
and The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
. Smit also spearheaded the movement to establish the Academy Award for Best Makeup to recognize the profession within the film industry
Film industry
The film industry consists of the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking: i.e. film production companies, film studios, cinematography, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, post production, film festivals, distribution; and actors, film directors and other film crew...
. He also successfully pushed studios to credit film make-up artists in a movie's screen credits.
Smit became a founding member of the IATSE local 706, Make-up and Hairstylists Guild chapter, in 1937.
Early life
Howard Smit was born in Chicago, Illinois, on April 19, 1911. He moved with his parents to Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, where he eventually enrolled in law school
Law school
A law school is an institution specializing in legal education.- Law degrees :- Canada :...
.
Career
Smit began working as a make-up artist at RKO Studios in order to pay for law school. He soon dropped out of law school and became a film studio make-up apprentice. He freelanced for several studios and businesses, including MGM Studios, Republic Studios and Max FactorMax Factor
Max Factor & Company is a cosmetics company, founded during 1909 by Maksymilian Faktorowicz , Max Factor, a Polish-Jewish cosmetician. Max Factor & Company was a related, two-family, multi-generational international cosmetics company before its sale in 1973 for $500 million dollars...
.
Smit's earliest work film work included in the make-up departments of The Wizard of Oz and Gunga Din
Gunga Din
-Background:The poem is a rhyming narrative from the point of view of a British soldier, about a native water-bearer who saves the soldier's life but dies himself. The last line suggests a deep-down unease of conscience about the prevailing views of natural hierarchies, both in the depicted...
. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, Smit worked on a number of feature films, especially Westerns. He worked with some of Hollywood's best known actors of the time, including Myrna Loy
Myrna Loy
Myrna Loy was an American actress. Trained as a dancer, she devoted herself fully to an acting career following a few minor roles in silent films. Originally typecast in exotic roles, often as a vamp or a woman of Asian descent, her career prospects improved following her portrayal of Nora Charles...
, Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
, Ethel Barrymore
Ethel Barrymore
Ethel Barrymore was an American actress and a member of the Barrymore family of actors.-Early life:Ethel Barrymore was born Ethel Mae Blythe in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the second child of the actors Maurice Barrymore and Georgiana Drew...
, Roy Rogers
Roy Rogers
Roy Rogers, born Leonard Franklin Slye , was an American singer and cowboy actor, one of the most heavily marketed and merchandised stars of his era, as well as being the namesake of the Roy Rogers Restaurants franchised chain...
, Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck was an American actress. She was a film and television star, known during her 60-year career as a consummate and versatile professional with a strong screen presence, and a favorite of directors including Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang and Frank Capra...
, Dale Evans
Dale Evans
Dale Evans, was an American writer, movie star, and singer-songwriter. She was the third wife of singing cowboy Roy Rogers.-Early life:...
, Lionel Barrymore
Lionel Barrymore
Lionel Barrymore was an American actor of stage, screen and radio. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in A Free Soul...
, and Robert Mitchum
Robert Mitchum
Robert Charles Durman Mitchum was an American film actor, author, composer and singer and is #23 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time...
.
Smit worked on two of Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
's films in the 1960s, Marnie
Marnie
Marnie is a 1961 English novel written by Winston Graham, about a young woman who makes a living by embezzling from her employers, moving on, and changing her identity. She is finally caught in the act by one of her employers, a young widower named Mark Rutland, who blackmails her into marriage...
and The Birds
The Birds (film)
The Birds is a 1963 horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock based on the 1952 short story "The Birds" by Daphne du Maurier. It depicts Bodega Bay, California which is, suddenly and for unexplained reasons, the subject of a series of widespread and violent bird attacks over the course of a few...
.
He switched to television and later worked on the Mod Squad and The Streets of San Francisco
The Streets of San Francisco
The Streets of San Francisco is a 1970s television police drama filmed on location in San Francisco, California, and produced by Quinn Martin Productions, with the first season produced in association with Warner Bros...
.
Industry work
The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees offered the Hollywood Motion Picture Make-up Artists Association a union charterCharter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...
in 1937. The charter led to the foundation of the IATSE local 706, Make-up and Hairstylists Guild chapter, in 1937, of which Smit was a founding member. Smit remained active with the Make-up and Hairstylists Guild and other related unions and organizations for more than 60 years, until his retirement in 1994.
Smit served as the president of the IATSE local 706, Make-up and Hairstylists Guild for two terms. Smit was first elected president in 1953 and re-elected to a second term in 1955. He later became a member of Make-up and Hairstylists Guild executive board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
. Smit served as the union's business respresentative from 1974 until 1994, and remained business respresentative emeritus
Emeritus
Emeritus is a post-positive adjective that is used to designate a retired professor, bishop, or other professional or as a title. The female equivalent emerita is also sometimes used.-History:...
following his retirement
Retirement
Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours.Many people choose to retire when they are eligible for private or public pension benefits, although some are forced to retire when physical conditions don't allow the person to...
.
Beginning in the 1950s, Smit pushed for pension
Pension
In general, a pension is an arrangement to provide people with an income when they are no longer earning a regular income from employment. Pensions should not be confused with severance pay; the former is paid in regular installments, while the latter is paid in one lump sum.The terms retirement...
, health
Health
Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...
and welfare
Welfare
Welfare refers to a broad discourse which may hold certain implications regarding the provision of a minimal level of wellbeing and social support for all citizens without the stigma of charity. This is termed "social solidarity"...
benefits for Hollwood's make-up artists and hairstylists. Smit's efforts were successful and these benefits are now part of the industry's Basic Agreement contract.
Smit and John Inzerella successfully spearheaded efforts to require film studios to include a mandatory contractual clause
Clause
In grammar, a clause is the smallest grammatical unit that can express a complete proposition. In some languages it may be a pair or group of words that consists of a subject and a predicate, although in other languages in certain clauses the subject may not appear explicitly as a noun phrase,...
that credited make-up artists and hairstylists in a movie's screen credits. The compulsory screen credits for a film's make-up artists were adopted in the 1980s. Smit also negotiated a five day work week for film make-up artists.
Smit and Inzerella also led the campaign to establish the Academy Award for Best Makeup as a recognition of make-up artists by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures...
. Smit's efforts were rewarded in 1981 when The Academy created the first Oscar category for "achievement in make-up." The inaugural Academy Award for film make-up was awarded in 1982 to make-up artist Rick Baker for his work on An American Werewolf in London
An American Werewolf in London
An American Werewolf in London is a 1981 British-American horror film, written and directed by John Landis. It stars David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, and Griffin Dunne....
. The Make-up and Hairstylists Guild honored Smit for his efforts in establishing the Academy Award for achievement in make-up by creating the Smitty Award in his honor.
Smit established the Deb Star Ball in 1953, an industry event which was held annually for 15 years. The proceeds from the ball were used to fund the IATSE Local 706 welfare committee. Those honored at the Deb Star Ball included Jill St. John
Jill St. John
Jill St. John is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Tiffany Case, the lead Bond girl in Diamonds Are Forever.-Early life:...
, Mary Ann Mobley
Mary Ann Mobley
Mary Ann Mobley is a former Miss America, actress, and television personality.-Career:After serving her reign as Miss America 1959, Mobley embarked on a career in both film and television...
, Kim Novak
Kim Novak
Kim Novak is an American film and television actress. She began her career with her roles in Pushover and Phffft! but achieved greater prominence in the 1955 film Picnic...
and Tuesday Weld
Tuesday Weld
Tuesday Weld is an American actress.Weld began her acting career as a child, and progressed to more mature roles during the late 1950s. She won a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Female Newcomer in 1960...
.
Smit served as both a Governor and a board member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. He also worked as a director for the Motion Picture Industry Health and Pension Fund.
Smit was shot
Shooting
Shooting is the act or process of firing rifles, shotguns or other projectile weapons such as bows or crossbows. Even the firing of artillery, rockets and missiles can be called shooting. A person who specializes in shooting is a marksman...
and wounded by another make-up artist in 1986 as he was exiting a board meeting of the Make-up and Hairstylists Guild. Smit's assailant later shot and killed two Los Angeles police officers
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
at the perpatrator's home. Smit recovered from the shooting
Shooting
Shooting is the act or process of firing rifles, shotguns or other projectile weapons such as bows or crossbows. Even the firing of artillery, rockets and missiles can be called shooting. A person who specializes in shooting is a marksman...
. He continued to serve on the Make-up Guild for eight more years until his retirement in 1994.
He also developed a line of moisturizing cream which was sold in stores under the name, Stage Ten Cosmetics.
Death
Howard Smit died at the Providence Tarzana Medical Center on August 1, 2009, in Tarzana, California, at the age of 98. His first wife, Edith Smit, whom he had been married to for more than 40 years, was a body make-up artist. Smit's second wife, Isabelle, died on June 26, 2009.Funeral services were held at the Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery
Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery
Mount Sinai Memorial Parks and Mortuaries refers to two Jewish cemeteries in the Los Angeles, California metropolitan area. The original cemetery is located at 5950 Forest Lawn Drive in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles. The cemetery was originally established in 1953 by the neighboring Forest...
in Los Angeles.